‘Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice‘—E.M. Forster
Yesterday we arrived in Florence from Rome and immediately fell in love. It is quieter, cleaner and is stocked with plenty of beautiful narrow alleys to get lost in. Plus, it has the zebra cathedral (Duomo di Firenze), which Bitti found fascinating and we were all awed by.
We dropped our bags off at our accommodation and immediately set out to find a famous sandwich shop, I Fratelli. On the way we stopped for a motivational $4000 gelato. The sandwich shop was pleasantly quiet so we made our selection in peace, ordered a glass of Prosecco each and sat in the gutter to eat, where we belong. We only nearly had our toes run over by taxis three times. Completely delightful! Bitti wasn’t quite so impressed with their offerings but did actually try and enjoy some salami.
From there we wandered to the Ponte Vecchio, which was packed with (retches) tourists. Several street artists were set up, selling pre-made portraits and landscapes of the city. Bitti watched with great interest as a man drew a charcoal caricature of a British gentleman. After a while she commented loudly, ‘His face looks weird!’, which the man’s girlfriend found hilarious. She very badly wanted her own caricature, but after seeing the quality I wasn’t about to lay down half our daily budget on it so we quickly moved her on.
We had booked tickets to enter the Accademia, where the statue of David is housed, so headed there next. It was relatively painless to gain entry, although there was still some lining up to do. The gallery was quite warm and stuffy, but Bitti was really interested in some of the paintings and wanted to hear all about them. Then we got into the main room, where a domed sky light beams down onto the star attraction: David. Bitti was very impressed, and we spent quite a bit of time sitting behind him, admiring his … form. She had been seeing his member all over Rome in the form of fridge magnets, calendars and various souvenirs so was very excited to see the real deal, although she did express some disappointment with the size, at top volume of course!
On the way out Bitti found a rainbow eraser in the shape of a snake that she desperately wanted. It was far cheaper than the sketch she had coveted so I gave her the money and she bought it all by herself, with the help of a kind stranger who prevented another tourist from cutting in front of her in the line. Our first gallery visit, successful!
By then it was mid-afternoon and a decision was needed about whether to push on or go home and rest. I wanted to see Santa Croce because you never know, a modern day George Emerson may be hanging around, and/or we may witness a melodramatic murder. We wandered back across town, Bitti taking the piggy back ride she had pre-negotiated. I do feel as if I had a previous life as a donkey. It was about time to rest our feet again so R found a great little bar to stop for a ‘Spritz and Chips’ at happy hour prices. Bitti found some more admirers in the waiters who were very attentive to her and Bunny, even though Bunny now looks as though he’s had more than just lunch in the gutter. 
We all got a bit tipsy at lunch, although it was only one drink. I think the heat of Rome and walking so much had taken it out of us all more than we’d calculated. Or perhaps it was a generous serving of Aperol?
Although I moan about Bitti’s failure to walk at times, she has been doing a good job. My iPhone app shows that we have been doing a LOT of steps, including nearly 22,000 on our first full day in Rome! And given that my legs are twice as long as hers, she probably did more like 42,000 … When Bitti lost her shit in Rome because the inflatable toy pig she had convinced me to buy her broke she was devo, but when she had got over it she did wave it in front of my face and say, ‘I’m deflated but I’m still alive’, and I think that about sums up Bitti’s holiday attitude.
After a short rest back at the hotel, serenaded by a couple rehearsing their vocals with piano accompaniment in a nearby apartment, we headed out for dinner and found an underground restaurant with some very stereotypical red and white check tablecloths. We ordered pasta even though we were only a little peckish, yet somehow when it arrived we were ravenous and ate it all up. It is a magic trick here in Italy. We are rarely very hungry but can always clear our plates.
Bitti has been sticking with her spaghetti or penne with pomodoro sauce, but will try bites of others things. She ate a large amount of her serve this time, and I polished off the rest as my lasagna wasn’t huge. Serving sizes have been hard to estimate. Service in the restaurants varies a lot too. I think we were spoiled a little in Rome. This place was very busy and they seemed not to notice us at all after delivering the menus. But when we managed to flag someone down and order the wait for the food was incredibly short. All meals seem to come with bread, although the quality of that varies. And I have to say (quietly) that although I love olive oil, I do long for a little butter for my bread!
And with that, our day in Florence was done. Far too short. It is a very pretty and charming place, everything in easy walking distance. Next, to Tuscany in the hire car!
Getting the monthly average up a bit!
Two Little Travellers 